Ancient and modern concept of what is limbus

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

In our world, there is a certain number of concepts that take place in various sciences. It is from this that their interpretation becomes ambiguous, and people often use such words based on unreliable knowledge. Therefore, in this article we will try to understand what limbo is, what is the origin of this word and how its essence and meaning evolved along with the development of religion, mythology and science.

When did limbo appear?

It is impossible to accurately determine the "date of birth" of this word. Presumably, it began to be used by people since Christ died on the cross, and such concepts as heaven and hell became the basis of all foundations for people. The very meaning of the word "limb" in those distant times, when the Christian religion was just beginning to exist, was interpreted as a kind of transitional stage, which is separated by heaven and hell. In those distant times, people believed that the souls of those philosophers, seers and preachers who lived before Jesus lived in limbo. In particular, the heroes of the Old Testament were seen in this theological world, and later it was believed that the souls of unbaptized babies also get there.

Ancient definitions of the term

Over the yearsthe question of what limbo is began to excite the Roman church, therefore, they tried to bring the utmost clarity to the essence of this term. The papal authorities agreed with the ancient idea that this place is a haven for people who, for some reason, could not be honored to contemplate the Lord in paradise. Nevertheless, their sins are so insignificant that it also made no sense to send them to hell. According to the Roman Catholic Church, "God loves every child of his, and wishes good and salvation to everyone," therefore, he sends only the most notorious sinners to hell, while the rest are in limbo.

Belonging to this term

It is worth noting that the question of what limbus is has been of interest exclusively to the Catholic Church for centuries. In the Orthodox religion, this concept is not mentioned at all, since according to its canons the world is divided only into heaven and hell. However, limbo-like worlds do occur in other religions, particularly in Shinto. According to Japanese canons, limbo is a transitional stage that every person goes through after death. In it, he can enjoy peace and beauty, or he can be in constant torment - it all depends on his life, his soul, his attitude towards himself. Shintoism also suggests that there is no such thing as time in limbo, so a person stays there until he realizes his essence and role in this world.

Analogies and contemporary meaning

Due to the fact that in ancient times people were most interested in the question of what limbus is, began to appearcountless works of art and myths about what this place is and how it looks. Among such stories, one cannot ignore Dante's Divine Comedy, which is completely built on biblical canons, but embellished and supplemented with fictitious plots, characters and events. According to this author, the first circle of hell is called limbo, where a person begins to see his sins, his life, his mistakes. This concept is a kind of departure from religious treatises, because according to the church, God wants every soul to be saved and rested. That is why the limb in theology is drawn as a neutral space, and Dante made it the first step on the ladder of eternal torment and torment.

At the moment, there are not so many disputes about what limbus means. The Vatican adopted the dogma that this space is a haven for unbaptized babies, as well as for the righteous and philosophers who died before Christ was born and ascended. In Orthodoxy (more precisely, in the stories of representatives of the Orthodox faith), this concept can be identified with the "tunnel" through which you need to go in order to find yourself in paradise.